“ A sword is coming against the Babylonians!” announces the Lord.“ It is coming against those who live in Babylon. It is coming against their officials and wise men.A sword is coming against their prophets. But they are not really prophets at all! So they will look foolish. A sword is coming against their soldiers! They will be filled with terror.A sword is coming against their horses and chariots! It is coming against all the hired soldiers in their armies. They will become weak. A sword is coming against their treasures! They will be stolen.There will not be any rain for their rivers. So they will dry up. Those things will happen because their land is full of statues of gods. Those gods will go crazy with terror.“ Desert creatures and hyenas will live in Babylon. And so will owls. People will never live there again. It will not be lived in for all time to come.I destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. I also destroyed the towns that were near them,” announces the Lord.“ Babylon will be just like them. No one will live there. No human beings will stay there.“ Look! An army is coming from the north. I am stirring up a great nation and many kings. They are coming from a land that is very far away.Their soldiers are armed with bows and spears. They are mean. They do not show any mercy at all. They come riding in on their horses. They sound like the roaring ocean. They are lined up for battle. They are coming to attack you, city of Babylon.
But you have been thrown out of your tomb. You are like a branch that is cut off and thrown away. You are covered with the bodies of those who have been killed by swords. You have been tossed into a stony pit along with them. You are like a dead body that people have walked on.You won’t be buried like other kings. That’s because you have destroyed your land. You have killed your people.“ Let the children of that evil man be killed. Let none of them be left to carry on the family name.So prepare a place to kill his children. Kill them because of the sins of the rulers who lived before them. They must not rise to power. They must not rule over the world. They must not cover the earth with their cities.”“ I will rise up against them,” announces the Lord who rules over all.“ I will destroy Babylon. It will not be remembered anymore. No one will be left alive there. I will destroy its people and their children after them,” announces the Lord.
Kill all Babylon’s strongest warriors. Let them die in battle. How terrible it will be for them! Their time to be judged has come. Now they will be punished.
Do not let its soldiers get their bows ready to use. Do not let them put on their armor. Do not spare their young men. Destroy their armies completely.They will fall down dead in Babylon. They will receive deadly wounds in its streets.
But both of these things will happen to you in a moment. They will take place on a single day. You will lose your children. And you will become a widow. That is what will happen to you. All your evil magic and powerful spells will not save you.You have felt secure in your evil ways. You have said,‘ No one sees what I’m doing.’ Your wisdom and knowledge lead you astray. You say to yourself,‘ I am like a god. No one is greater than I am.’So horrible trouble will come on you. You will not know how to use your evil magic to make it go away. Great trouble will fall on you. No amount of money can keep it away. Something terrible will happen to you all at once. You will not see it coming ahead of time.“ So keep on casting your magic spells. Keep on practicing your evil magic. You have been doing those things ever since you were a child. Perhaps they will help you. Maybe they will scare your enemies away.All the advice you have received has only worn you out! Let those who study the heavens come forward. They claim to know what is going to happen by watching the stars every month. So let them save you from the trouble that is coming on you.They are just like straw. Fire will burn them up. They can’t even save themselves from the powerful flames. These are not like coals that can warm anyone. This is not like a fire to sit by.
I have opened up my storeroom. I have brought out the weapons I use when I am angry. I am the Lord and King who rules over all. I have work to do in the land of the Babylonians.
